Often small-business owners make the mistake of believing that mobile business apps are only for large corporations or specific industries. They believe apps are too costly or won’t fit their customer base needs, leaving them to assume their website will suffice. This could not be further from the truth. Most businesses, regardless of size or customer base, can profit from having a mobile app. In fact, with the today’s marketplace being overtaken by mobile business apps, some business may struggle to survive without one.

We have four smart reasons why investing in a mobile business app could be the best thing for your company.

1. Interact with your customers.

Having a mobile app allows businesses to engage and understand their customers in real time. Valuable information is gained on different demographics and location when customers use their profiles. Successful business apps create interested customers, which equates to a paying customer.

For example, some bank mobile apps allow users to take pictures to easily deposit checks into their accounts. This saves the user time and effort avoiding to find an ATM or a bank branch location. However, if the user wants the location of an ATM, the app can user their location to find the closest one. Users also can be connected to customer service through the app.

2. Market what you offer.

Research shows that companies who offer mobile apps are seen more positively by customers than companies that don’t. A mobile app will help create relationships with customers because you will stand out from the crowd. A great benefit of an app is being able to promote your brand, feature products, and services, as well as drive sales. Say you own a retail store and have an app that provides information on your user’s location, giving a time-sensitive coupon to customers within a nearby area it will push the customers to walk into the store.

3. Maximize ROI.

You may be asking yourself if you can afford a mobile business app. But you might be losing money without one.

Distimo reports that on average the expense per device of app building is less than one percent of a company’s revenue. Even with the initial cost of an app, the brand enhancement and the sales that could be generated would be worth it tenfold.

4. Broaden your customer base.

In 2014, an Ericsson Mobility Report suggests that mobile subscriptions in 2019 will reach 9.3 billion, 5.6 billion of those will consist of smartphones. So though you may already have a traditional site, trends are increasingly moving forward to mobile search and browsing. Companies that do not offer mobile apps will quickly become obsolete in the future market. A younger demographic may never encounter your business as the future of mobile apps moves forward, especially those that connect with social media.

If you are still uncertain whether a mobile business app is worth paying for, the great news is you have options. Start out small before making a major investment. Design your mobile app as a prototype, include only features that will generate the most value. If the prototype does well, you can start adding more features and device types in the future.

You owe it to your business and customers to at least try a mobile app, especially because it is relatively inexpensive to test. If the app does do as promised, a responsive design website might be a better fit. But remember, whatever option you choose will allow you to build your customer base, drive sales, and engage with your customers.